Spotting Melissa Russalesi, a young mother with a toddler, in a sea of young mothers with toddlers at a local playground really isn't all that difficult.

"I'm the one with the red ribbon in my hair," she said. "It's easy to find me. That's what I tell the new moms."

Russalesi became the organizer for the MeetUp.com Ellicott City Moms Group last June. She joined the group when her son, Parker, was still a baby. As a new stay-at-home mom, she wanted to find a playgroup, but didn't know anyone else who had an infant. So she turned to the Internet to meet other parents with children Parker's age.

"It's just nice to get out of the house and talk to adults since I didn't have anyone else in the neighborhood to talk to. Originally, there were no kids (where we lived). Now we moved to a townhouse and there's tons of kids, so he has this and that," said Russalesi, of Ellicott City.

The group, which has more than 170 parents as members, organizes several playdates a week for its members' children. The target age group is newborns to 5 year olds, although older siblings sometimes also come along for an outing. A playdate, which includes lots of kids, may be held at one of the many Howard County parks, while a smaller one may take place at a fellow member's home.

Michelle Kane said her family moved to Ellicott City in part because she wanted her 10-week-old son Bryan to grow up in a child-friendly environment. She wasted no time in signing up for the E.C. Moms Group and they attended their first playgroup meeting June 3 at Rockburn Branch Park, in Elkridge.

"I just moved here from Annapolis; this place is polluted with children, it's the best ever," she said, while gently rocking the sleeping Bryan's stroller back and forth. "It's just so that you are with other adult women who have children. So you can share information and the kids can play together."

Networking for new moms

Like Russalesi and Kane, many first-time moms with newborns do not have a ready made network of friends or neighbors with infants that they can get together with regularly. E.C. Moms Group members often cite the need to socialize with other moms as one key reason to join the group.

Carrie Heath became a member in 2005, when her older daughter Riley was about a year old. At the time, Heath was living at her parents' home in Columbia with Riley.

"I was living with my parents and I really wanted to get out of the house. I was working two part-time jobs ... my poor daughter had like two full-time parents. I went to Google and typed in playgroup and the first site that came up was MeetUp.com which is what our playgroup goes through," she said.

Heath made friends immediately with several other women and continues to see them frequently. Some of them even get together regularly to exercise, kids in tow.

"Now I hang out with these friends who were in the group. ... We exercise together. We race around the park with our strollers, 'cause chasing babies all day is still not enough to keep in shape," she said.

Heath added she gets together often with fellow member Michelle Houborg. Heath and Houborg have children that are very close in age. Riley Heath and Kaya Houborg are 4 years old; Collette Heath and Filuka Houborg are almost 1 year old. Watching her two daughters interact with other children in the playgroup has helped Heath get over her first-baby jitters. She no longer worries if Riley or Collete get dirty or get into a minor tussle with another child.

"Riley's such a social butterfly. I tell people she was my bubble-wrap baby; we were so careful with her. And Collette, she's the dirty one-we let her crawl all over the cement, eat grass, share toys and slobber all over them. I'm so much more relaxed about it now," Heath said.

Marjeta Cedilnik, who lives in Columbia, joined the group because she wanted her daughter, Zala, to meet children outside of her daycare. As a mom who works full-time, she likes the idea of having scheduled outings so she can plan on attending them ahead of time. She noted that although there are children in her neighborhood, getting together with them does not always work out.

"I like it because then I know there will be something going on. With the neighbors, it's very random," she said.

For more information on the MeetUp Ellicott City Moms Group, go to http://moms.meetup.com/1264.

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